I'm a Texas guy. The last thing I expected was that Good Friday would be cold, wet, and miserable. I recognize that I have no control over anything that really matters. I guess, depending on the outcome, the weather could fall into that category.
Before we left the house yesterday morning, the General asked if she needed to take a warmer coat? She had a heavy sweatshirt type jacket with her. I assured her that she was fine. I, too, was taking a lightweight jacket.
Following the General's radiation treatment, we planned to head to Cat Spring for Easter weekend to visit our son and his family. We hadn't planned to do that, but late last week, my son's mother-in-law sent a text to the General inviting us to join her family for dinner on Easter. She extended us that invitation last year, and wanted to include us again.
As plans for Easter weekend began to develop, we were also invited to an annual fish fry at noon on Good Friday at our daughter-in-law's paternal Grandparent's home and farm. It was the family's annual tradition to host a fish fry for family members on Good Friday. The grandfather, who was preceded in death by his wife, joined her for all eternity several months ago. His children wanted to carry on the family tradition.
I don't take for granted that the General and I have been routinely welcomed and treated like family by both sides of Becky's family. For starters, there aren't many families as close-knit as both sides of Becky's family. In many respects they remind me of our extended family.
Before we left Texas Oncology, I sensed that problems were just around the corner. For starters, the wind was blowing, and it was on the cold side of cool. The General wasn't going to be happy with the sage advice I had provided for her not to take a heavier coat.
It was also raining. At times the rain was not enough to need the wipers, but at other times you couldn't see clearly without them. I was very grateful for the intermittent windshield wipers. It took me awhile to set the frequency correctly, but I eventually figured it out.
The experience triggered my memory of watching "Flash of Genius" on Netflix. It was a documentary of Robert Kearns, the guy who invented the intermittent wiper and how he fought in court to protect what was rightfully his. Trust me, if you watch the documentary to the very end, you won't be disappointed.
Traffic out of Austin was moving at a snails pace. The traffic was bumper-to-bumper and stop-and-go. Did I mention that I hate driving in those conditions? The one thing I knew for certain is that we were not going to arrive in Cat Spring by noon. In fact, according to my calculations, we were going to be at least an hour late.
I wasn't hyperventilating, but the General thought I needed to chill. Seriously, who goes to someone's home for lunch and arrives an hour late? I'd prefer to have root canal work at the dentist's office.
Okay, so we were very late. I lamely apologized to a couple of folks who looked at me as though I had been smoking with Willy. Both individuals communicated the same message, "It is okay. We're glad your here. "
The experience turned out to be delightful. In short order, I figured out I was in over my head. Not only was Becky's family gracious and personable, but they are also smart - left brain kind of smart – and that is beyond my comprehension.
One of Becky's second cousins works from home. He is an electrical engineer. He is working on projects in Canada and in the state of Washington. As he talked about his work, I had no comprehension of what he was talking about except for the complexity of it all.
Another second cousin was talking about his electrical work. He loves what he is doing. It, too, was over my head.
Mid-afternoon, college kids and much younger second cousins played tag football in the light rain. It represented a kind of family togetherness and enjoyment that you seldom find. Watching their enjoyment made me glad to be in attendance.
My granddaughter brought her boyfriend to introduce to the family. All I can say is that he had to be a very courageous young man. In short order, he too, felt welcomed to be in attendance. He wasn't provided the luxury of setting out the flag football game. He played as though it was an annual tradition.
All My Best!
Don
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